


What is human?

by the_dreammaker_heartbreaker



Category: Dollhouse, Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Other, Other: See Story Notes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-08
Updated: 2016-06-06
Packaged: 2018-04-13 13:37:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4524063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_dreammaker_heartbreaker/pseuds/the_dreammaker_heartbreaker
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After 4x13, Root leaves and finds the Dollhouse in Los Angeles. They agree to make her a Doll, and in turn she'll have the feelings over Sameen's apparent demise erased from her mind after her contract ends. Little did she know that Samaritan, who's taken an interest on the Dollhouse, would send Shaw there for some brain-washing as well. Meanwhile, Team Machine struggles to keep doing the work and saving numbers in NY - and that's not going well for them after Root's departure. The future will surely be a different place with Samaritan playing with Dolls.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Whiskey.

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own anything from "Person of Interest" or "Dollhouse". 
> 
> This crossover AU combines different timelines from both shows, so bear with me in that matter, I'll try to make sense while writting this, but I'm not sure if I'll succeed (specially since the timeline in Dollhouse is so confusing. Think of Dollhouse happening some years ahead in the same timeline as POI, and foward from that). It's my first time writing a big fanfic like this one, and first time writing a crossover, so every comment and criticism will be welcomed and appreciated!  
> This first chapter is a bit longer than planned because I tried to explain as many things as I could for the people who didn't watch Dollhouse and would want to read anyway (although seriously, this show is so AWESOME, you should check it out.). All in all, I hope you enjoy it! :)
> 
> WARNING: This chapter is psychological and dark, and the perspective of being "wiped" (to become a Doll at the Dollhouse) sometimes sounds like suicide thoughts (in my opinion), so if those are triggers for you, I'd advise against reading this work.
> 
> PS: English is not my native language, and some mistakes could be found, although I read this thing 49 times and fixed all I could.  
> PS 2: I had no idea what title to use for this and I came across Sense8's quote about humanity: “What is human? An ability to reason? To imagine? To love or grieve? If so, we are more human than any human ever will be.”. I think it fits perfectly with the concept of the Dolls struggling with their many identities, so there you have the title. Thanks Sense8. 
> 
> A huge thanks to my friend Izabela who beta-ed this, and who did the best work ever and made me keep going!  
> I'll shut up now. :)  
> ♦♦♦

SIERRA

TANGO

OSCAR

PAPA

...

SIERRA

TANGO

OSCAR

PAPA

...

“Goodbye, Harold.”

 ♦

 

“Good afternoon, Ms. Groves. My name is Adelle DeWitt.” Said a tall, brunette woman with a stern face and a British accent “I understand you’re interested in volunteering.”

Root stood still for a moment before sitting on the chair she was offered. With a snort, she said “Volunteering. Interesting choice of words. Yes, I am _volunteering_.” She said the last word with a sneer. As if the people that came to them had a lot of choice. As if most people that came here had _any_ agency left that meant they could be free in the world and in control over themselves. Root knew she wasn’t. She felt utterly powerless, an unknown notion to someone like her who had always built her agency and power with her own hands. If she weren’t so good at hiding, they would have found her too, same as they found everyone else that “volunteered”. She had discovered that the contract you made with the Dollhouse was cruel on yourself and that the Dollhouse thrived from people’s issues and pains, problematic and power-abusive as that sounded. She heard a lot of absurd rumors that she mostly hoped weren’t true. It was a very frightening perspective, but she saw no other way out.

Samantha Groves had arrived and knocked on their bloody _front door_. She had come prepared with a very complete – although probably not entirely truthful – file on herself. She had enough information that she had demanded to see “Adelle DeWitt” as fast as possible. That was anything but regular in the Dollhouse. After reading the file, and as soon as the young woman had entered her office, Adelle was certain that she knew a great deal about their work, that the other woman was dangerous, and that she should thread carefully to not miss a client, or worse, anonymity, or possibly her life. She had to admit she was impressed, and that wasn’t something she was very often, given her line of work. Thus, Adelle had decided for a swift approach on Samantha, which would serve to show she wasn’t impressed at all – a move to discover at what ends the other woman had gone to find the Dollhouse. She ignored the previous sneer and proceeded as planned, calm as ever.

“Very well, I have a little questionnaire for you to fill then, if you please.” Adelle stood, handing her a paper across the central table of the small room. The other woman took it along with a pen, and answered as quickly as possible.

“Alright. Allow me to read you through our agreement and process, Ms. Groves.”

“I am very aware of it, DeWitt. Let’s just get this over with.”

Adelle couldn’t help but notice how Samantha twitched whenever she said her name.

“Adelle, please, dear. So you’re saying you know about the five-year contract, that you will have no memory of this time, and that we will be taking care of your body and using it for our purposes until said contract is finished?”

“Yes.”

“May I ask how?” Said Adelle, letting her interest slide a bit into her question.

“I’m just very good with computers. It wasn’t hard to find you once I knew what I needed.” Root’s mouth quirked up at the corners with that.

Adelle raised an eyebrow at the flippant way the woman had answered that. As she had guessed, Groves was the unknown intruder. It was worse than they thought. She would need to enhance security protocols _again_ once this was over if the hacker had been able to find all that information so easily in one try. Of course, she could be lying, but the fact that a few weeks back a subtle attack on the house’s system had left the IT Specialists dumbstruck and that no one had manage to find a single thing on the intruder, not even a name, not even an IP address – not even what she had stolen from them – was weighing enough on Adelle’s decision to believe the woman. Also, she already knew her name when she came in – and Adelle DeWitt was supposed to be invisible.

“I see. I have to tell you, your profile is remarkable, as is your questionnaire, apparently… However, you are hard to find. We’ve been looking for you since you knocked on our back-door, took a peek and disappeared. I am quite glad you reached for us.” Adelle smiled, her thoughts wondering on how much Topher would enjoy studying that brain, “Do you have any other questions?”

“You will make me forget everything, is that right? No names or faces? Feelings? _Everything_?” said Root, stressing the last word.

“Once a person is wiped, their memory is stored in a drive with a hard copy, and kept safe at the best our security can offer. Once a Doll, you won’t remember anything of your original self, until we restore you after the five years, that is. We call that blank state the _tabula rasa_.” Adelle assured.

“That’s all I need to know. Now…” She continued, “I do have a request. I understand you have very advanced biological treatments…” Adelle nodded in agreement, surprised again at her extensive knowledge on the House, “You see, I am deaf in my right ear. I have installed…” The Machine buzzed in her ear at this point – she couldn’t see her Interface, but she could hear Root, and she had been doing that since they arrived – but Root continued anyway, ignoring Her as best as she could “A device in my cochlear cavity. I need you to remove it and make me hear again. Can you do that?”

“Certainly, I can, but you don’t expect me to just do that out of the goodness of my heart… How would you repay that? Certainly, I could add more years to your contract or…?”

“Actually, I did expect that, since what you people do here is “for the benefit of human-kind”, isn’t it?” Root cut her off, with a sarcastic smile that meant she didn’t even expect Adelle to _have_ a heart in the first place. “But alas! First, you get a non-deaf-Doll. Second, I can get you access to classified information about a new technology that’s surfaced in the world and you have no clue about. You’d be wise to accept that, because _they_ won’t provide the information I have freely, probably they won’t provide any information at all, and so won’t your bosses. This technology hasn’t gotten to your company completely, yet. Trust me, it will, and you, Adelle, will want to be ready when it does. After my five-year contract is finished, I will advise you on how to deal with that particular… Issue. That’s what I have to offer.”

“ _Information_. That doesn’t sound like much, and I don’t see why I wouldn’t be briefed about such an important new technology, as you claim. My superiors have my best interest in mind when it comes to dealing with potential competitors. After all, I _do_ run this House, and they know I am very good at that.” Adelle was wearing a cynical smile that didn’t reach her eyes. The mere thought of what the hacker was suggesting was enough to make her feel insulted.  

Root’s smile matched her own “Information is everything at this day and age, Adelle, you more than anyone should know that. It will sound like a lot if you decide to hear me out.” Root managed to say without letting the shakiness she felt with the anxiety take hold of her voice. She was losing patience. She just wanted it done. Her face dropped to a blank mask, and Adelle was sure she could see a glint of madness behind those cold hard eyes.

Adelle pondered for a moment. Samantha knew a lot about technology, and she had bypassed their heavy security with no help at all and no one still had a clue at how she did it. Their whole company was founded on the most modern high-tech, and if an offending mechanism had surfaced without their knowledge, or if they were actually concealing something from her, surely…

Root cleared her throat looking at Adelle, who had drifted on her thoughts. She quickly recovered and added, “Very well, tell me.”

“Sign your end of the deal first.” Said Root, looking at the contract laid on the center table.

Adelle sighed, but she understood the other woman’s demand, so she bent down to sign the contract. Root nodded once she was finished, eyes still cold and hard.

“Do you have cameras in here?”

“Yes.”

“Shut them down.”

After a quick call to security, Adelle had them turned off.

“Can I have your phone?” Asked Root.

Adelle handed her the phone, which was readily dropped into the water jar on the table. Adelle’s face twitched, but she didn’t complain. The hacker probably had her reasons.

“It’s called Samaritan.” Started Root.

After 15 minutes, Adelle had understood why her phone had been dropped into the water. She had also understood why Rossum’s actions had gone up by 30% just in the last five months, and why there was a sudden desire to increase surveillance on the building. She was, of course, furious. If there was one thing Adelle DeWitt hated was being left in the dark, and she was certain her superiors had at least some idea of what was going on, since Samaritan could become a potential investor in Rossum. Samantha Groves had provided her with important information, which she intended to keep to herself as long as she needed. It all seemed absurd of course – but so seemed what they did in this facility, yet still… And the woman seemed to know a lot of information she wouldn’t have if she didn’t have access to some superior intelligence. Not information that could be hacked. Information about daily basis perks of herself and many of her employees when they were outside of the Dollhouse. Also, her knowledge of Adelle’s occasional rendezvous with Victor was the tiebreaker at convincing her, although she wasn’t quite sure who Victor was, she had described him perfectly, head to toe.

Root was still sitting at the same place, fidgeting now that she had stopped talking. She hadn’t, of course, mentioned the _other_ AI that was out in the world, she still had to leave the Machine and the others protected.

Adelle sighed. It would be a long contract and a big headache.

“Very well, Ms. Groves. Normally I would say “Show, don’t tell”. But given your resources… You have yourself a deal.” Said Adelle, back to business “Would you like to accompany me while I rewrite the specifics of your contract?”

“Sure.” Root followed her behind her desk.

Adelle would have typed it all down on her computer but Root stopped her and she remembered why. “Best if you write it down the good old-fashioned way. Preferably on this document you already signed first.” Said Root, soflty. Adelle simply nodded in agreement. A solemn silence stood over them, with only the sounds of Adelle’s fancy pen scratching the paper. “Anything else?” Asked Adelle, looking behind her shoulder at the other woman.

“We already agreed that after you take away my cochlear implant, you’ll keep it safe along with my memories. That device should also be _reimplanted_ after my contract ends.” The Machine made a series of unintelligible noises in her ear. It was probably struggling to be in here with the heavy interference it faced in the facility. “Also, when my consciousness returns to me, I’ll need the feelings I have about the demise of a friend called “Sameen” to be gone. I understand that’s how your contract works.”

“That I can arrange, and Topher will take care of the erasure request. We do that for most of the people that come in.” Said Adelle, bending to pen down the rest of the notes. She held back more inquisitive questions about the other woman’s past. Although their procedures worked best when they knew more about the volunteer’s background and about what they wanted erased, with a full psychological evaluation that usually followed the contracts, Adelle knew she would get no deeper into Samantha’s mind than what she had already told – and intruding further in that area would only make the hacker more annoyed. “You don’t know me, but you can trust me in this little matter. You were a good piece of advice, Ms. Groves.” Root didn’t answer and instead took the pen to sign the document.

“Then this is all.” Said Root, with a sad smile. She knew her true identity had been wiped clean from the face of the Earth by her own hands, and the other covers would be protected by the Machine’s infiltrated parts on Samaritan. The new “Samantha Groves” would be just one more cover the Machine had provided – at least She had done this small favor to her Interface, before She knew what her actual plans were. Of course it had been an unnecessary risk, given that some Samaritan operatives (Greer for one) knew her face and her true identity, but if she was to be wiped from her mind, she wanted it to be done with at least a small amount of truth in the process. She felt stupid now, thinking it through, but it was done, so she waved it away and trusted – ironically – in her luck that they wouldn’t find her there. She was invisible to Samaritan’s eyes at least, and she wouldn’t exist in this place’s digital records. If by any chance everything went to ruin and Samaritan or anyone else finally came across that document that proved she was in the Dollhouse, she wouldn’t be around to know anyway.  

“I shall call for a medical team to take you to your ear surgery, and then you can go through your download and wipe.” Said Adelle, getting up and pouring them both a shot from her favorite bottle of _Chivas Regal_.

“Thank you, Adelle.” Said Root, with the same sad smile, accepting the Scotch. She drained the liquid without barely feeling the burning sensation down her throat as Adelle made her call. Ironically, the Machine was making twitching noises that she could scarcely read as military code: Sierra Tango Oscar Papa. Repeatedly. At moments, She tried to talk normally, but She hardly could, at this place, it was dangerous and the interference was too big. Root touched her scar when her ear got hot. She murmured:

“Just the word that got me here. “Stop”. I know you would’ve told me if you knew she was alive. So you either don’t know, or she truly is dead. And I can’t stand this question anymore, but I’m not sure I’d be ready for an answer either.” She talked softly, grinning here and there with the Machine’s attempts at communication. A sad grin to say goodbye to her god. The god that had failed her only attempt at requesting something for herself, after doing so much for Her. “I need a break.”

She had never stopped looking for _her_. She needed to know. She had many covers, and if she got in trouble, the Machine would always warn her in time. She was one of the best hackers in the world, after all. So she searched and searched. Everything she found went to dead ends, and the leads that produced something brought her to endless journeys alongside John, destruction, pain, torture, and even though she felt better with it because then she was doing _something_ to find her, those had all proven fruitless too. Then the Machine called with that damned chanting, and Harold had told her to stop too. “Our pursuit of it will consume us entirely.” He had said. _At least he got that one right._ Thought Root. And John agreed with him. Everyone just simply stopped, because their hope wasn’t enough for them to keep going. But she couldn’t, she _wouldn’t_ reconcile with that unanswered question so soon and so easily. She went away, ignored new numbers, new missions, she kept looking and finding dead ends, because why should she care about the greater good? She had done so much already, and for what? The thing that mattered the most was gone, and no matter what she tried and where she went, Root couldn’t do what she was best at and _find_ her. It had been too much, and she couldn’t take it anymore. So she found the Dollhouse, and came with no second thought. She didn’t want to be awake in a world where she didn’t know if Sameen Shaw was dead or alive, because there was no use for Root if Root couldn’t function properly. How does a code work if part of it is missing? If she had to help the Machine and its numbers and do the saving, she needed the pain and desolation over Sameen’s probable death to be gone. To be erased. And only the Dollhouse could _literally_ do that. It felt a lot like quitting, but it was the only way she thought she could help anyone in the future – and maybe finally reconcile with not knowing.    

Adelle accompanied her as she was directed to the surgery room, and prepared, leaving her to the doctor’s attention. The Machine’s attempts became more frenetic. She knew her connection to her Interface was about to be severed. Root laid down, still listening. They pinched her ear with the anesthesia, and she felt slightly numb, more knowing than feeling the doctor’s hands on her head. From the smell of blood, she knew the doctor – a middle-aged white man, Saunders or something – was cutting her open.

“ _I am sorry_.” the Machine managed, before the doctor severed the main connection with her ear nerves. “I am sorry too.” Answered Root with the slightest of whispers. With her good ear, she heard a clang in a metal plate, which would have been her cochlear implant. The doctor brought in an equipment and continued working on her ear. She felt a hard pressure on her nerves, and then some pain despite the anesthesia, but soon it was over. She sat up; the doctor attached a clip to her ear and said, “You will hear a series of sounds now.” And she heard them, muffled and not perfectly yet, but she heard them. Tears started to well in her eyes, but she took a deep breath and refused to let them fall. “I can hear you.” Was her slow reply. She could hear again, but had never felt the world around her so muted.

Later, they took her to a room filled with computers and a modified chair, where she met Topher, the “computer and neuroscientist genius” – as he introduced himself – and she snorted loudly as he took her to his process. He was a big talker (sounded like an ass actually) and Root was sure she wouldn’t have liked him in the slightest if she had the time to get to know him, although the 3D brains mapped on his screens were truly impressive. Adelle arrived a few moments later, and Root was invited onto the chair, which she took.

She wasn’t nervous. She wasn’t sad. She wasn’t angry anymore. Just hollow. Not even that last tingle of hope – that had gone when she heard the metal clang of the Machine in a platter. She thought about Harold and his trained monkey that had been her friend and helped her in those last months, and Bear, even Lionel with his annoying nicknaming, and in the deepest of her heart, she knew the Machine would take care of them as best as She could. She didn’t spare many thoughts for the Machine, though, she had said her goodbyes, and now there was only silence. Adelle was talking, but Root wasn’t really paying attention, because then there was only one person in her mind. In the back of her thoughts, she could understand Adelle saying that she would be there when Root awakened five years from now, but that Root would feel like only a heartbeat had passed. It was only when Adelle called “Samantha.” that Root looked directly into her eyes to automatically reply “Don’t call me that.”, and Adelle saw that madness glimpse in Root’s eyes again, same as she saw on everyone else that had sat in that chair. As the chair started turning back and lowering her, Root closed her eyes. Everything felt so silent.

_Samantha. Sam. Sameen… I’m so sorry, Sameen._

♦

“Hello, Whiskey, how are you feeling?”

“Did I fall asleep?” Asked Whiskey softly.

“For a little while.” Answered Topher.

“Shall I go now?”

“If you want to.”

Whiskey smiled to Topher and got up to leave, sparing no more than a look to Adelle. She felt a little pinch behind her right ear and reached to feel it. Stitches. They picked at her finger.

“Just don’t touch that, Whiskey.” She lowered her hand. “Go on, now.” Adelle said.

“I think I’ll paint today.” She smiled.

“That’s wonderful, dear.”

She smiled again and turned to leave.

 


	2. Silent Hysteria.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Dollhouse needs to recover some information about itself from the CIA, to avoid jeopardizing the company. Meanwhile, Adelle receives an unpleasant visit from Mr. Greer, who brings a new integrant to the house.

“How is it going over there, Agent Taylor?”

“Bloody hell, Topher, I swear to all the entities I do not believe in, if you come in with this same stupid question _one more time_ , I will shoot you when I get back to base.” Came the reply through the com, low and dangerous. Topher smiled to himself.

“Why did they assign you to this mission anyway? You are just the computer nerd and you haven’t helped me at all so far. My team would have done just fine.” Said Agent Alice Taylor, from the MI-6. Topher smiled wider, knowing he had managed to piss her off so easily.

“ _Because_ , Alice, we still don’t know what we will find in those archives, and although I completely trust your programming skills – which, may I add, still not better than mine – you will need me to tell you what to find.”

“This is just wonderful.” She kept muttering while crawling across the air vent to reach the top floor. “Just great. DeWitt could have stayed in your place; at least she’s great to talk to.” Alice was panting from the effort of climbing and crawling the last five floors. Her team had managed to disarm the laser alarms in the air vent. It was the most unprotected area she could find and she wanted to use it for an emergency way out, but her plans were suddenly changed when the bloody senior officer’s personal manager wouldn’t stop following her around the CIA building like her private nanny – and now there she was, stuck in a bifurcation. “Wood, come in.”

“Yeah, boss, already working on it.” Answered Agent Sarah Wood, from 30 stories below, on their new van. “Go left, up to the next level – that’s about only 5 meters up, then straight ahead for about 50 meters and you should be just on top of the room.”

“Roger that.” Alice turned left and crawled for a couple more minutes, finally being able to stand up on the bifurcation side that would lead her up. It was a tight space, but she managed to jump on the two walls with her long legs and arms spread for support. She quickly pushed herself up the 5 meters and found the next entrance. Again laid on her stomach, she stopped for a moment to catch her breath. “See, Topher, at least someone was useful.”

“Oh, Alice, but I am so useful that I just called Adelle to come down and have a fun chat with you! Maybe you guys can get some tea later and talk about the Royal Family or Beagles. Isn’t that what you Brits do?” Came the sarcastic reply. Alice scoffed and continued on her path. She was sweaty, her hair sticking to her face and her body protesting with every inch (she had just climbed 10 stories), so she was glad for the breath of fresh air that blew on her face when she reached the office’s vent opening.

Just as they had programmed, the office was empty, so she opened the vent and jumped in. She looked around for a moment – a fancy office, with leather couches and a nice worktable that seemed to be Ash. It was so clean and polished she could see her reflex on it. The computer was just on top of it, so she quickly got to work. It wasn’t hard to bypass CIA’s security with her hacking skills, and after a few minutes she was in. She plugged in Topher’s hard drive, which automatically downloaded a quiet virus into the computer.

“Done, Topher, your little child is already installed. What next?”

“Check which files need security access and which are easily opened. We don’t need the easy ones.”

“Already doing that. What else.” Said Alice, impatiently.

“Your priority should be Project Correspondence. Get all you can find on that.”

“Just a moment.” She replied clicking one of the highest security folders she had filtered. A couple of windows popped opened trying to bar her approach, but she got rid of them in three heartbeats. “Correspondence” showed up. “Found it.”

“Can you crack it?”

“Probably, but it’ll take me a while just by myself. Martin, how are we on time?”

“Fifteen minutes tops, boss. The senior officer is still eating his pie across the street, and his pet is hitting on the front desk girl.”

“Bollocks.” She replied, typing furiously.

“I am doing what I can from this end through the virus.” Said Topher.

A couple of other files popped up and Topher’s virus managed to accelerate the process.

“See how helpful I am, Alice.”

The agent scoffed again and continued.  Finally, they got across the heavy security surrounding the files, nearly ten minutes later. Alice downloaded everything to the hard drive and ejected it.

“Done. Is that everything?”

“Take the other files I popped up for ya. Then you gotta delete the files.”

“But Topher, that will leave a red arrow pointing to what we just stole.” Said Alice, confused. She thought this was a stealth mission, get in, get out. Reconnaissance, finding the things that could compromise Rossum Corporation. No clues behind.

“It’s better than leaving this information behind for them to keep doing their research. Trust me.”

As if an invisible hand had gotten hold of her thoughts, she decided she did trust him completely. So she erased the information, completing the job, and getting back to the air vent, making sure the square grid was properly closed before heading back all the way on the tight air tubes. At least everything that went up had to come down eventually, so the way back was almost effortless compared to what she went through on the way up.

“It appears the senior officer is heading back to his office just now, boss.” Martin informed through the com, a few moments later.

“Wood, are all the lasers still off?”

“Yup. Don’t worry about them, the security protocols will only scan them in the next hour. Your assigned office is closed, too. They think you are still on that online meeting with your high officers in London.”

“Great. I only have 3 floors to go. Then it’s retirement, folks.”

Alice took a moment to appreciate how efficient she and her team were, but kept going fast, nonetheless. She also appreciated how thick the walls in this place were, or else she was sure the CIA agents would be hearing the racket she was making in the metal air-vents. She wanted to be back at her office as soon as possible to recompose her sweaty and disheveled self, just to be able to go out of that enormous CIA building through the front door.

Alice got to her office and changed to the suit and skirt outfit she had come in. She patted her skin dry and applied some make up, pulling her brown locks into a tight bun. She looked herself over on the faint reflection of the frosted glass that built the entire wall separating that room from the corridor. Almost as if nothing ever happened. She packed everything else in her suitcase.

“I’m flying blind now. Com’s off.”

“Roger that.” Replied the others in their respective ends.

Alice took off the com, crushed it, and tossed it out the window unceremoniously. She packed everything else she had come with in the slim suitcase she had brought and prepared to head out. The woman took a deep breath and went out chin up and heels cracking the floor. She barely encountered a soul on that floor before reaching the elevators.

As she made to the front entrance and passed security again, with no one stopping her, she increased her pace to reach the exit, not sparing one glance to the front desk.

“Agent Taylor!” a voice called from her back. It was Tim Hayes, the senior officer’s personal manager, his right hand at everything, who had apparently been flirting with the girl on the front desk all this time.

“Timothy.” She greeted.

“Are you leaving already?”

“Yes, back to my hotel for the evening. I’ll be back tomorrow to meet with Mr. Paige as we agreed.”

“Very well, I trust your talk with the British HQ went alright?”

“Yes, the connection was very smooth and we managed to discuss key points in our partnership with your agency. I believe Paige will be glad to hear everything out tomorrow.”

At last, he got the cue and nodded at her, turning around to leave.

Finally, she left the building and walked three streets down to their van, parked near a supermarket lot and entered.

♦

“How is Whiskey doing out there?”

Topher jumped on his chair and closed his eyes to steady himself as Adele walked into his office; he kept his hands stretched over his keyboard as his heart rate went back to normal.

“Jesus, Adelle! Can’t you knock, or clear your throat like a normal person?” He replied, turning around to look at her.

Adelle half smiled and raised an eyebrow, waiting for an answer.

“Yeah, she’s just fine. In fact, we cleared the files and she got out of the building without trouble. Handler’s just confirmed he’s already bringing the three of them in for their treatments. It’s gonna take a few hours but they are already in the jet.”

“Wonderful. Victor and Sierra?”

“On point as usual, although I don’t understand why we used them for backup team. They’re some of our finest. And Whiskey is just starting but she will probably be a little star in near future. But one was enough for this mission I think.”

“It was a delicate mission, and we needed the best. If they had to go in, they could’ve handled it.”

“You’re not the one who had to create three different personalities with multiple past memories that interconnected in order for this to work, but whatever. Besides, if they had to go in everybody would probably be dead because it’s the freaking CIA building. That big one. In D.C. They probably don’t like invaders.”

But Adelle was already ignoring him, looking at the file on top of his desk.

“Alice Taylor. British, MI-6…”

“She’s also a huge fan of yours, Adelle. Sure you don’t wanna chit-chat a little before her treatment?”

Adelle rolled her eyes at him and went back to examining the file once more.

“Are you sure we got everything out? It wouldn’t be good for us if they had information about Rossum's work left. We already have that FBI agent asking questions around Los Angeles. And our newest _investor_ wouldn’t be very happy about it either.”

“I’m sure, boss, chill. And my little virus is inside now, so I can search all the other computers to find if there’s anything left. It’ll take me a couple days, but trust me, that petit thing is untraceable. We also got Decima’s stuff.”

“Good. I don’t know why they couldn’t have done it themselves, they already have full access to everything, the bastards. Or used the D.C. House for that matter. But alas, they’ll be glad to hear.”

She had started to walk away when Topher called her from over his shoulder.

“You should really talk to her, one of the best British accents I’ve ever made, and it’s all based off yours, boss.”

“Whatever, Topher, just make sure they’re 100% when they get back.” She waved as she walked away.

♦

“Ms. DeWitt.”

Adelle startled for a second with the voice just as she was stepping into her office.

“Mr. Greer, to what do I owe the pleasure?”

“I trust your little CIA mission went well.”

“It did, yes. And we also have some Decima files for you to go over.”

“I already have them, and you can erase them for your archives. I’ll know if you don’t.”

“As soon as possible, sir.” Adelle couldn’t believe how utterly powerless that man made her feel. She was in her own office, for heaven’s sake, but he still acted like he owned the place, the entire Dollhouse, the Dolls, and even herself – although he wasn’t far from it, she thought.

Since Decima had started investing and interfering with the Dollhouse’s affairs, things had changed quite a bit. Most of her workers still thought Decima was only a powerful computer company, but Adelle knew better after Ms. Groves’ advice three months back.

They had started requesting Dolls for secret jobs that took them all across the country. Most of them assassinations and information recovery, very dangerous. Adelle worried about the Dolls, because although the man and women had signed an agreement, she had also vowed to keep them safe while they were in her care. She had always inspected their costumers and missions personally, and her complete approval was needed for a mission to be permitted. Those powers were granted only to her since she had taken the job, because they had trusted her judgement, and she had kept their trust by not letting anyone get hurt.

Now, with Decima owning a big portion – even if not yet the majority – of Rossum’s actions, many jobs that she had forbidden happened under her nose anyway. No accidents so far, but she knew it was only a matter of time. So she had taken personal precautions to ensure she had still a little bit of agency in what happened inside the Dollhouse. She would have access to Decima’s missions, she would choose the Dolls for the missions, their employers would not meet the Dolls, inspect their facility or learn much more about the erasure procedures than they already had – which was quite more than what would have been safe in the first place.

She didn’t fool herself with thinking Samaritan didn’t have access to everything inside the Dollhouse. She was sure Mr. Greer actually knew most of the Dolls that were in the house, he just didn’t care much about which one would do the job, as long as the job got done. And she also suspected he wanted to leave her with that fake sense of power. She had no clue how long that would last, but it was better to have a sense of control and protection over the Dolls than to have absolutely nothing.

Then they started bringing in people to be erased. And she didn’t think those people came willingly at all because they were either too hysterical to sit the chair or too unconscious to protest. The new Dolls didn’t last long there, mostly a couple of days, when Topher had to work desperately fast to fix some identities that Decima itself had created in hard-drives that were almost perfect copies of his own and then imprint the Dolls to meet Mr. Greer requirements. It was all very odd, because later the Dolls left almost the same people they had arrived, and were never seen again. But in all the cases she couldn’t refuse, so she fed her questions and suspicions with what she could get her hands on.

Greer got up and walked towards the door, where Adelle was still standing. He put his hand on the small of her back slightly and pointed her the way back to where she had come from.

“If you’ll accompany me, Ms. DeWitt, I have a new Doll for you.”

“I hadn’t imagined you had all this effort to fly from New York to L.A. just to see if our mission was successful.” Adelle said bitterly, following the old man.

They walked together back to Topher’s office. There were two big bulky guards leading a woman in just then. Well, “leading” was the wrong word because that would imply she was actually walking when the woman could barely stand. They more or less carried her inside and held her up while Mr. Greer showed Adelle in.

Adelle noticed the woman was short, with black glossy hair, but she couldn’t see much of her face, because her head fell limply at her chest. Adelle also saw a part of her hair had been shaved, because it was still growing and not at the same length as the rest.

“This is Ms. Shaw, Ms. DeWitt. I am leaving her to your care.”

At the mention of her name, Shaw raised her head slowly, and looked Adelle with the hardest and coldest eyes she had ever seen. Her head was still falling slightly back, but she stared firmly, her expression blank, her half-closed eyes blazing with anger and hatred towards Adelle. She said nothing.

“She was diagnosed with the Axis II personality disorder. Essentially, a sociopath.” Greer continued “And after spending some time in a mental health institution, she entered this catatonic estate and never returned to her normal behavior.” He said, in a very facetious way that didn’t go with that particular situation.

Shaw looked at Greer, then, and Adelle saw her fists curling into two balls.

“It was very sad indeed, because she was truly improving before this happened. It was the desire of her family that I would bring her to you, so you could cure her after she spends a few years as Doll.” He continued, forcing some seriousness into his voice.

“You seem to have brought me many people in this catatonic state, indeed, Mr. Greer. Are you perchance doing charity?” Answered Adelle, sarcastically. She hadn’t believed this woman had a family to send her to the Dollhouse for one heartbeat.

Greer smiled forcedly. “Certainly I have, Ms. DeWitt. I believe, like you, that we are doing good for this world here. And now you get to help this poor girl.”

Topher, who had been strangely quiet watching their exchange from his corner at his desk – being around Greer had this unusual effect upon him – coughed to draw their attention.

“So, uhm, now that we’ve stablished she will be a Doll, I have to ask: Does she have any brain damage? Because that’s harder to work around.”

“None that showed in our tests.”

“So can I do my thing now?” Adelle could sense by the tone of Topher’s voice he just wanted to get this over with so Greer would go away. The old man made him very nervous.

“Without a doubt, you can. I have a flight in a couple hours and I better get this done before I leave.”

The bodyguards dragged the woman to the chair and secured her hands by precaution. Although it wasn’t much, Shaw was still clenching her hands into fists, and her arms strained a little against her ties. She repeated these actions spasmodically, and weakly, but Adelle could see them. She grunted something, but couldn’t properly form words. This woman didn’t want to be here, she was fighting back as much as she could, her eyes were now wide and filled with murderous anger, and there was nothing Adelle could do to help her.

The chair started to lean back, and Shaw’s spasms and grunts that could now be understood as “No!” became stronger, as if reinforced by an adrenaline burst. When the chair stopped and the erasure began, all she could do was grit her teeth and by the end she couldn’t help the groans of agony that escaped. It wasn’t a painless process, but Adelle and Greer watched without blinking at her struggle. A few minutes later, she fell back into the chair, her tensed body finally relaxed when unconsciousness took her. Moments later, she was blinking awake as the bodyguards untied her hands.

“Mr. Greer, Adelle, meet Tango.”

“Hello, Tango, how are you feeling?” Adelle said.

“Did I fall asleep?” answered Tango with a blank peaceful expression, her voice hoarse.

“For a little while.”

“Shall I go now?”

“If you want to.” Answered Topher, passing her a glass of water. She sat, drank and got up to leave. She wanted to go to the pool.

“This process never ceases to amaze me.” Said Greer, watching her as she went out the door. “Peaceful and complacent as a lamb.”

He turned to Adelle, smiling a smile that never seemed to reach his eyes.

“Now if you two shall excuse me, I’ll be on my way. I’ll return when I need her.”

Adelle simply nodded, too disgusted by the man to reply.

“Oh, and Mr. Brink, no need to keep her back up to yourselves, send it to my office in New York, will you?”

“Of-of course, sir.” Topher answered awkwardly as the old man walked to the exit.

His bodyguards followed and as fast as he had arrived, he was gone. And now they had one more Doll in the house.

“Not keep the back up? What the hell is grandpa thinking?” He looked at Adelle.

She approached and murmured to his ear. “Security is watching us so pay attention. Never mind what he said, make two backups as usual, send one to his office, and the other one will go into my vault. He doesn’t know you keep a backup of the backups. I don’t have a clue who this girl is, but she is probably important to them. Also, run some more tests on her later, will you? I want to find out what is being done to these people’s brains.”

“But you heard him, Adelle, he always knows when we disobey his orders.” He was also whispering.

“I still have an authority card or two to pull if that wolf comes sniffing at our necks. But do it discreetly, mind you. She’s the only one he’s left here; it might be our only chance.”

“You got it, boss. And hey, I don’t like to force them into erasure when they come in either. Don’t feel too bad about it.”

Adelle patted him on the shoulder and walked away with no answer.

♦

“Topher, hello.”

“Alice, hey, you made it! Pretend I gave myself the trouble to get up and congratulate you.”

“You’re so funny, dear, why don’t you try stand-up comedy? Don’t think I forgot I owe you a punch to the face.”

“Oh, I try… Anyway, would you like a treatment?” Topher said quickly after the small threat.

Alice’s shoulders relaxed and she smiled.

“I do enjoy my treatments.”

“Be my guest.” He said, pointing at the chair.

Alice sat and he quickly finished the process.

“Did I fall asleep?” Whiskey asked.

“For a little while.”

“May I go now?”

“If you want to.”

The Doll got up with a wish to go to the pool. She was just about to say so when Topher made her hurry because he still had to give treatments to her friends Sierra and Victor. Whiskey was sure they also enjoyed their treatments.

There was someone at the pool. She was glad for the company.

“You are Tango.” She stated simply.

“And you are Whiskey.” The other Doll replied.

“Is the water good?”

“Perfect as usual.”

“Nice. Would you swim with me?”

“I think I can take some more laps with you. It could help me to be my best.”

“I always try to be my best too.” Whiskey smiled and entered the pool with the new Doll.

 ♦

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, so first thanks so much to everyone that read, left kudos and comments on Chapter 1! I can't begin to explain how happy that made me, and how much of an energy boost that was that helped me keep writing this story! I never expected such positive return from my first published fanfic tbh. Anyway, about chapter 2: This got a lot lengthier than I expected (but I hope the amount of dialogue will keep it flowing) , and I'm very sorry for being such a slow writer - I reeeeally tried to update sooner. This was more of a filler chapter because I needed to add Shaw to the story. But hey, Shoot is sort of reunited and at least now Whiskey has some 007 programming inside her mind, and that can prove helpful in the future, so there's that.  
> I hope you enjoy it! Comments and criticism are ALWAYS welcome!  
> Also, a huuuge thanks to my friend Izabela (awkward-and-angry) for beta-ing this work! (Seriously dude you're saving my life here, I'll buy you tons of chocolate. <3)  
> Thanks, everyone!  
> Gio out. :)


	3. Crystal Clear.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Whiskey and Tango are presenting some behavioral problems to Topher, and Adelle is doing all she can to keep it under control. But when this problem compromises a mission, they will have to do something about it. Greer wants Tango for a special mission, and Whiskey is sent on a mission herself, along with Alpha.  
> Meanwhile, Finch and Reese get some signals about Root's whereabouts from the Machine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, I know I've been gone for longer than I expected, but hopefully you guys are still here! This is probably very confusing because Dollhouse's timeline keeps changing all the time, but I'm trying to keep it linear as much as I can. I won't say anything else before you read it.  
> A huuuge thanks to my friend Izabela (awkward-and-angry) who's beta-ing this work and is helping me a lot!
> 
> TW: KNIFE PLAY & HINTS OF MURDER  
> If you have a trigger with those, don't read the chapter or skip the last part. Feel free to message me and ask what happened without the trigger details! :)

♦

“Mr. Reese, I was just about to call you.” Said Finch looking from behind his computers’ screens to the man in the suit that walked into the subway.

“What’s up, Finch? New number?”

“Not exactly new, but yes. It’s her again.”

“Root? Finch, it’s the third time already. I think it’s time we go find her.”

“But it’s Root, John. She won’t be found if she doesn’t want to.”

“She’s been gone for months now, which is very unusual, even for her. What if this time she really needs us?”

“This time we have at least gotten a location. She was in D.C., more precisely in the CIA headquarters. I’ve managed to take a look at their surveillance cameras. Here, watch this.”

Reese approached the computers. Finch played the footage: Root was dressed like an executive, walking towards the front door. A young man stopped her, they exchanged a few words and she left.

“Once outside, she entered a black van parked near the building and I lost them after that. The van had no plate. However, I ran a lip-reading device on the Agency’s footage and the man called Ms. Groves “Agent Taylor”. The only Taylor I found in the security’s system was one Alice Taylor. British, MI-6. The original Agent Taylor is currently at her apartment in London.” Finch showed a picture of the actual Alice Taylor and Reese nodded.

“They look very similar; I see how she could pass as this agent. She could be undercover, Finch. But if she entered a van she has to be working with someone.”

“The question is, Mr. Reese, with whom? Anyhow, it appears her trail has gone cold again after I lost her at D.C. Now I don’t know if we must wait for a next warning, or if we hope we don’t get another one with the chance she is alright. I fear she might be doing something reckless in her endless quest to find Ms. Shaw. Whatever it is, I think it’s time we intervene if the Machine sends us her number again.”

“It’s Root, Harold, she’s always doing something reckless. But I’m worried she might be joining with the wrong people to find Shaw. We’ll be ready next time.”

♦

The food tasted amazing. She wanted to ask Tango if she thought the same.

She asked and Tango nodded and smiled. Whiskey thought Tango really liked eating.

She liked sitting with Tango. They sometimes looked at each other and smiled. And Whiskey was always so happy after that.

The other day Tango showed her one of her drawings, it was a big dog. Whiskey had liked it very much. She was used to drawing more circles and lines that connected. Sometimes they were colorful; sometimes they were black and white. They were especially colorful when Tango was painting next to her.

♦

 “Topher, have you ran the tests on Tango I asked of you?”

“Just one boss, I scanned her brain. It appears she has sustained a bit of damage. The format of the scars on the tissue was weird. And I think there was still something implanted in there. Completely fried, very small, I think, but there was something. And I don’t know how that didn’t completely messed with her brain functions but they look mostly normal. And the different chemicals from the Axis II seem to have normalized a bit after the wipe. One thing that did stand out though is that sometimes when she was imprinted, she had a bit of rejection. Not that she had consciousness about her imprints, don’t worry. But like if I imprinted her with too much empathy for a specially asshole guy, she would play along with it alright, but sometimes she showed moments of annoyance and even anger. Which wasn’t programmed into it. It quickly spiked and vanished though, so it didn’t compromise missions, but I saw it there. Very weird. I couldn’t find anything else.”

“So, an implant you say?” Adelle murmured. As she suspected, Decima had tried some brain control before they discovered the Dollhouse. This Shaw woman had probably been brought to them after they tried to control her and failed. And now they had her at their hand. Adelle was furious that Greer had even dared to say she had been in a mental health institute and that her _family_ had sent her there. She couldn’t call them a monster because her job depended on manipulating people’s minds, but at least she had the decency to tell them and they had to sign an agreement. Greer was bringing in completely powerless people. She imagined had she the time to have Topher analyze the other people Greer had taken away, they would have found the exact same brain implants.

“Are you sure that implant can’t hurt her further when we imprint her?”

“Yeah, I tried it and everything worked out despite those emotional peaks.”

Adelle was looking out the window. She located the woman in mention having lunch. She was sitting with Whiskey. That was a very unusual behavior for Dolls. They weren’t supposed to actually remember each other. It worked more or less as if their awareness of each other’s existences was renewed after every wipe.

“Topher, come over here and look at this.” She said, pointing at them.

“Holy crap. Do you think they could be banding together? Oh man…”

“Are you saying they remember each other?”

“Well, they shouldn’t. I’ll run some tests and keep an eye out on them, but they definitely shouldn’t. It could be a natural instinct of agglomeration. For protection and care. Animals do that too, and I know it’s harsh to compare them to animals, but in a natural habitat, animals do that too. I don’t know if children would have that response as well, because in the blank state they’re basically children, even a little less functional. So maybe like puppies? I don’t know.”

“I will try and not be worried until you come to me with more answers. I’m glad I saw it soon though. Keep an eye out for them, Topher. I’ll tell some other operatives to monitor that as well. But if it’s natural instinct as you say, we shouldn’t worry too much.”

“Will do, boss, don’t worry.”

♦

Tango thought Whiskey was pretty. She wasn’t sure what pretty meant, but she thought so. She was very soft, and her pointy nose was nice. And she always shared her meals with Tango.

Sometimes when she couldn’t eat anymore, she would even offer Tango some things from her plate. That always made Tango happy. She was sure that would help her to be her best.

♦

“I just got a call from Mr. Greer asking me to “search Tango’s brain” and see if I can find anything concerning a Harold Finch. Location or something. How do I tell him this is not how this works and I can’t just like find his direction in a map by looking at someone’s brain?”

“I’ll handle it, Topher. It shouldn’t be too hard to explain that you mostly deal with feelings and chemicals and muscle memory, not actual information.”

“Ok, thanks, boss. I tried telling him it’s not like searching Google but… You know how he makes me nervous, I guess I didn’t express myself right.”

“I will deal with it. Calm down.” Adelle approached his glass window again.

“So, how is the issue we talked about these last few days.” She asked.

“I’ve been monitoring them this week, and I think it’s some sort of clustering or banding, like I told you. I checked both Tango and Whiskey’s brains, there’s nothing different in them that I already didn’t knew. It just looks like their oxytocin levels increase when they’re close. Like they feel safer together or something.”

“Isn’t oxytocin the so called “love hormone”?”

“Yeah, but love probably goes much further than just hormones, right? They don’t have emotions or memories to _love_ each other, if that’s what you’re asking, boss. It’s pretty much more instinctual infatuation than anything.”

Adelle sighed.

“Will this be a problem, Topher? I’d hate to have them sent to the Attic because of something that could go wrong.”

“I don’t think so… I’ve been monitoring the other Dolls as well, and apparently the others don't show it.”

Topher was smiling, but Adelle kept serious so he stopped and continued his explanation. “I’ll keep researching, but it’s probably harmless. I also told Ivy to re-do their schedules so they will be apart as much as possible during the non-mission days activities. Hopefully that will normalize things. We can’t help it in the meals and free periods, though, but that will help me tell if it’s working or not.”

“And if it doesn’t work?”

“Then I’ll make a hormonal treatment program to try to normalize the oxytocin levels.”

“Can’t you just do this now?”

“Well, I try not to mess with their brain chemistry too much ‘cause that can be harmful. Especially with Tango, since her brain functions mostly normalized after her wipe and she has some brain damages, I only work with hormones if the clients are particularly difficult to deal with. But if this banding thing doesn’t go away, I’ll find a way to fix it, boss, no worries.”

“Fine. If you say there won’t be an issue, I believe you. Just keep me updated on what you find.”

“Sure thing.”

“I’ll go deal with that Greer situation now.”

  
“Thanks again, Adelle, you’re saving my life.”

“Don’t I always?” She said over her shoulder while she walked away.

♦

“Ms. DeWitt, to what do I owe the pleasure of your call?”

“Topher told me you had a special errand for him. I’m calling to let you know that that sort of procedure isn’t possible.”

“The boy tried to tell me so. Don’t worry, DeWitt, the procedure won’t be necessary. You’re good, but not magical. I have other plans for Tango, I’ll be down at the Dollhouse by the end of the month so we can work this mission out together.”

Adelle didn’t reply, surprised that the man was going to let her into his plans.

“It’s crucial that we find Harold Finch’s location.”

“And who is this Harold Finch?”

“You’ll know in time, don’t worry. I have other business to attend to now, if you don’t mind. Goodbye.”

Greer hung up, and Adelle put her cellphone away. All she wanted to find out now was who was Harold Finch, to which end she dedicated the rest of her week.

Her quest had been fruitless altogether. She had even gotten Topher to program some hacking skills into a Doll so they could help her track the mysterious mark. But the man was invisible. He didn’t exist anywhere.

So she gathered the little patience she had left and waited for Greer’s arrival for the rest of the month.

♦

“Mr. Reese, come here.”

John, who was playing with Bear outside Finch’s office in the subway, entered the narrow cart.

“Look at these websites. The Machine has been annoyingly pointing me to them, opening internet tabs by Itself. Do you think it means anything?”

“Rossum… Dollhouse… Back when I lived in D.C., the Dollhouse was an urban legend or something. But I don’t see how those two connect.”

“Rossum is a powerful software company that had an up on the actions market recently. Very odd that the Machine is trying to connect them with some urban legend.”

“Well, we’ve seen so many weird stuff, maybe it’s not an urban legend at all, you should keep searching this lead. If the Machine is being so persistent, maybe it has something to do with Root.”

“Yes, it could be something to do with Ms. Groves… I’ll keep looking at it.”

“Good. Now gimme something to do ‘cause this subway is driving me insane.”

♦

“This better be a joke, Topher! I thought you said you would _handle_ this!”

“Whoa, Adelle, I’m trying. No need to yell at me…”

“I’ll yell if I bloody want to!” Adelle pressed her hand to her eyes and took a deep breath. With a more controlled voice, she said “Last week you told me you were going to handle this problem with Whiskey and Tango. Now I hear from Dr. Saunders that the Dolls _had sex_ during a mission? This incident just costed us Sierra’s life because they weren’t at the meeting in time! You better be able to explain this.”

“Okay, okay. First of all, no one is as sorry as I am about Sierra. Second of all, geez, I’ve been doing all you’ve told me to do. I’ve been monitoring them as you wanted and their banding thing hasn’t developed further after Ivy changed their schedules. So as I said before the mission – that by the way _you_ approved – I thought there was no problem sending them in together, plus it was a big mission that needed the best Dolls and they happen to be some of the best, if Whiskey isn’t _the_ best already.”

“Well, if Whiskey was already the best she wouldn’t be compromising the mission for some fun, would she? But what’s done is done, so you should start explaining why all of this happened if there was no problem in the first place?”

“Look, the personalities I implant aren’t perfectly rounded and flawless, as much as it pains me to say, I can’t control every single aspect of the Dolls’ behaviors. I implanted Whiskey with doctor skills, sympathetic, nice, funny and cool, very good with children and stubborn adults, resilient through tough situations and been through war zones. I didn’t put “having sex with hot cute bodyguards while working” anywhere in there, just as I didn’t put “swooping tall hot doctors off their feet during jobs” in Tango’s bodyguard program. She’s probably the most efficient bodyguard I ever designed so far. The problem with what I do is that to make the Dolls believable and as closer to real as they can get, they need to have will of their own and be able to make choices for themselves. I can’t stop them from responding to their instincts.”

“So basically what you’re saying is that they acted on their own accord with desires you did not implant but were there anyway because they can choose.”

“Yes. The fact that they’re imprinted with each other probably helped, but the doctor and the bodyguard chose to do the deed, not my implants.”

“Ok, this is all very odd.” She said still rubbing her eyes. “Are you sure you didn’t miss anything that could compromise the mission? Their mission should be the top priority in their personalities, I don’t see how they could’ve just skipped that part by themselves.”

“I’m sure Adelle, I programed them like I do for all the Dolls. They had their priorities on check, but they probably just got a little bit over their heads in… you know, and that’s why they were 10 minutes late for the rendezvous point and the mob lords were able to get a shot at Sierra. Again, I’m very sorry we couldn’t predict this. But seriously, Adelle, if this was any other case, Whiskey would be halfway into the Attic by now, and Tango too if she wasn’t a Greer-creation. What is it with you and Whiskey?”

“If this were any other case, but it isn’t…” She sighed “Look, I won’t blame this on your head; we should have all seen this coming. You should probably lower their oxytocin levels as we discussed before since we can’t send either one to D.C. or the Attic. And I don’t want to hear more of this.” 

♦

Whiskey thought it was all very weird. Why was Topher running so many tests on her? The red-haired man that gave her treatments, that was his name, right? She was healthy as ever and she was being the best Doll she could be.

A voice in the back of her mind told her to watch out. Another said it was because she stayed too close to that other Doll, Tango.

She wondered what the harm in being close to Tango was. All she wanted was to make her smile, share her meals and protect her.

The voice insisted that Topher had been running tests on Tango too, hadn’t she realized? It was probably connected. Being close was not a proper behavior for a Doll.

Realized what, she wondered. A third voice answered that she couldn’t show she was aware, they were already very suspicious.

Whiskey was upset. But the voice kept nagging at her mind with a thick British accent now, “You have to fake it or they will find you out.” The voice said.

“Alright, alright…” Thought Whiskey. She had decided the voices were her friends and she would be a better Doll if she listened to them, so she would stay away from Tango from then on.

♦

“So, how are their treatments going?” Adelle asked as soon as she entered the room, startling Topher, as usual.

“I think it worked pretty well, boss! Whiskey stopped following Tango around, and Tango rarely sits with her during meals anymore. Now they’re just acquainted Dolls like everyone else. I'm still monitoring though, and I recommend you to avoid sending them on missions together, at least for a while.”

“Well done, Topher. I think you’ll also be glad to hear we already have some candidates for the new Sierra.”

“Oh, great to hear that, I’ve been working on some new implants, it would be good to test them on a new brain.”

“You’ll have plenty of time for that later, we should focus on getting Tango prepared for Mr. Greer’s visit next week. Only god knows what that man has in store for this mission.”

♦

“How potentially lethal would you say these implants are?” DeWitt asked, without letting her voice shake with the worry she felt.

…

She danced like nothing was happening, to the sound of “In Dreams”. How ironic, all of that seemed just like a dream. This is not real. Not real. Unreal. Her brain kept repeating those words, but she ignored them, the music drilling holes in those stupid thoughts. She just wanted to have fun with her man, while they tortured that little poor guy because well, he and the other spies deserved it for following them around.

They hadn’t survived that long on the run without knowing how to spot a lie, that’s what Bobby said and Bobby was always right. And all that talk about how they were not real. Pffft, bullshit. They would have a lot of dirty fun with that one, at least that’s what Bobby had promised her.

And oh, how he wailed and suffered while they hooked up on top of him, Crystal kept dancing almost as if to prove someone “unreal” couldn’t give that dying man that kind of lap dance. Bobby followed her every move and then handed her the knife. Knife play was one of her favorites. She ran it down the man’s neck just to see him shake harder with the thought she was going to kill him right then. But she could wait, oh, she would leave that part to Bobby and watch.

Just as she thought that, a huge explosion knocked her off her feet. She tried to get up as fast as she could once she saw movement in the room, a bunch of people in black, probably FBI there to catch them, but she was too stunned to react. Crystal still held the knife, which she pointed at the woman coming straight at her. She would take at least one bitch down with her.

“Whiskey, would you like your treatment?”

She threw the knife away, the perspective of a treatment far more attractive than murder. Crystal walked away with that woman that she seemed to know from somewhere, and only looked back to check if Bobby was also getting a treatment. The semi-naked man tied to the chair completely forgotten.

♦

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So whoa, I've been gone forever! I am so sorry to keep people who were interested waiting, but I'm still very excited to continue this work. All I have to say in my defense is that university life and personal stuff got in my way, but I'm finally getting some writing done AND I'm pretty excited about it. Chapter 3 is pretty much when all the hell breaks loose, so brace yourselves (never mind that I'm probably making it sound more exciting than it's gonna be)! Also, I've written half of Chapter 4 already, so I promise next update will come in the next few days. Thanks for reading and for keeping at it even though it took me forever to update!  
> You guys are amazing!
> 
> EDIT: I accidentally added Echo to this chapter, so I already fixed that because she's only coming on the next one! Sorry to everyone that already read this before the changes, but it didn't affect the chapter at all.


	4. Number One.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a new Doll in the House! Meanwhile, Adelle is moving some strings against Samaritan, Greer requests Tango for a new mission. Finch has a new lead on the Dollhouse, and bad things are bound to happen...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Cutting and references of violence against females.  
> TW: Blood.
> 
> You will notice this chapter is slightly more Dollhouse centered, so if you're here for the POI side only and don't feel like reading the chapter, I've summed it up on the end notes (along with some explanations for the people who didn't watch Dollhouse). Sorry but I also gotta tell some boring parts because I worry too much about detail...  
> Also, some scenes are very similar to the episodes, and some quotes are from the episodes, so let it be known I do not own Dollhouse or POI or anything.  
> Again, I'm a slow writer, so if you're sticking with this story, I can only say thank you so much and I'm sorry for the slow updates!  
> Once again, a huge thanks to my friend Izabela (awkward-and-angry) who's been beta-ing this story for me! She's the best!  
> PS: I am forever bitter about Root's death and IT IS NOT OK! I hope everybody is alright after this fucking punch to the stomach! Stay safe, peeps! <3

♦

“I keep recommending a week of rest.”

“Our Number One active? Boss Lady will never let her lie fallow.”

“I try to be my best.” Said Whiskey.

“I’m sure you do.” Said Dr. Saunders.

He said Whiskey would have a new friend, and Whiskey thought friends were nice, like Tango and Victor.

♦

Alpha thought she was an angel, but she looked sad. He tried to tell Whiskey that, but Whiskey didn’t care.

Soon he found out her name was Echo and she was going to live there with all of them. That made Alpha very happy. He also thought new friends were nice.

One time, he made a plan to wait for her in the corridors, and when she showed up, he went up to her and brushed her lips with his own like the security man sometimes did with the nurse behind closed doors, that meant he liked her. A voice in his head said that was a kiss. Yes, he kissed her. He also told her that he liked her and that she was special. He needed her to know that. He needed Echo to know she was the best. He kissed her again to make his point, but a guard spotted them and called Echo for a treatment.

A voice in his brain said “Idiot!” Alpha didn’t precisely understand the words though. But the next thing he knew was that the man was angry at him and he didn’t know why. So he walked away watching his steps as the man had told him.

♦

Caroline looked around at all that and felt like she was in some sort of strange zoo, or a rich people spa for zombies. Every so-called “Doll” seemed hollow, like robots that performed pre-designed tasks. Eating, bathing, painting, working out. So mechanical, so _unnatural_. She definitely didn’t want to be like that. DeWitt had said they were almost like children when they were in this state, but Caroline could see she was wrong. Children were messy, loud, filled with life, ideas and adventure. These people were shells, pale shadows of humans, hollow.

The young woman saw with her own eyes what she would become, but again, it wasn’t like she had a real choice. She could either give up her freedom for 5 years, for the promise of well-being and safety, and then have her crimes wiped from all records, quietly and privately. Or she could rot in jail for many years and remember every single unbearable moment of it for the rest of her life. She shouldn’t be punished for trying to do the right thing, should she? Her insides screamed at her that she ought to step up and face her own consequences, but her fear got the better of her, and she chose the logical, easier way out – the one with less suffering.

She signed the damn papers that would turn Caroline Farrell into memory and bring forth the Doll that carried her face. No matter what lies Adelle told herself every night to fall asleep, Caroline knew this had nothing to do with helping humanity. And Caroline would remember, and take a stand when her time was done. But for now, she did as she was bid and sat the chair. DeWitt told her she would have no memory of the wipe and it would seem just like she had fallen asleep when they met again 5 years from that moment. Caroline tried her best to remain calm and ignore the annoying scientist called Topher that would be the one controlling her brain from now on.

After a reassuring squeeze on her left hand, Adelle backed away and Topher turned on the chair. From where Caroline Farrell had sat, a clean Echo awoke. Adelle was the first one she saw, and she promptly asked:

“Hello, Echo, how are you feeling?”

“Did I fall asleep?” the new Doll said.

“For a little while.” The woman answered.

“Shall I go now?”

“If you like.”

♦

The Doll left peacefully and Topher was alone with Adelle. He ignored her, since she usually walked away after these processes, but this time she didn’t, and cleared her throat to get his attention.

“Topher, I’ve been meaning to talk to you for a while now. Somewhere more private, if you would.” She said softly, eyeing the two cameras on opposite corners of the room.

She motioned for him to follow her back into her office, one of the few places she had managed to keep new cameras at bay after she destroyed the old ones with a tiny little virus she slipped into the security’s computer. When people came to make repairs, she had bid them to remove the cameras, saying they made her uncomfortable, and that she wanted to see no more of them. The men had argued that those were orders that came from her superiors; so she called the superiors and said she wanted more privacy. They begrudgingly had accepted after she had made her outrage clear. She thought that probably meant they weren’t worried enough about her to need to keep such a close eye on her, or that Greer didn’t care if her office had cameras or not, since she couldn’t pose a serious threat. While she walked upstairs with Topher, she smiled to herself, and thought that would be the first of their mistakes.

She invited Topher to seat and asked him to turn off his phone, although she knew it was probably as inviolable as his computers. Even an all-powerful AI would have to go through layers and layers of firewalls to get to his stuff. He was a very paranoid young man. Topher was about to ask why, but Adelle simply raised her hand and asked for his silence. He turned off the phone. She was certain they were safe enough to talk in the room, she had been sweeping over everything all week to make sure there were no hidden cameras or scouts around. There were none she could find, which only gave more confirmation to her theory that Greer couldn’t care less about her dealings.

“Topher, we have serious business to discuss. You’ve been asking me more and more lately about why I give such special treatment to Whiskey. I’ve answered you that you have no clearance to know that, but it’s time I let you in on my plans. You are aware I’m one of the few people here who are on your side, and I’ve come to trust you more than anyone else in this house. You’d be wise to not betray that trust by revealing to anyone what I’m about to tell you.”

“Aw, I love you too, boss.” He joked. Adelle raised an eyebrow “Right, sorry. I solemnly swear I am up to no good.” Topher gave one of those stupid smiles he always did when he thought his joke had been awesome. Adele raised her eyebrow even further.

“No Harry Potter reference? You’re British, come on, you had to know that one! Fine, fine.” He said after she just kept staring with that angry face “I give you my word no one will ever hear about it. Now tell meee, I’m not good at dealing with curiosity, c’mon.” He leaned forward and looked at her with an annoying smile.

“You know Whiskey’s case has been an odd one from the start. I’ve asked you to not keep any records on her original profile on her computer folder, and to secure her back up personality directly to me. I don’t usually do those things.”

“No kidding, I think it’s _unusual_ when you tell a joke, do you want to know my opinion on what I think when you give me weird orders like that?”

“I’m serious, Topher, I need to let you in on some of my knowledge of her case. I can’t know what might happen tomorrow and someone needs to uphold my deal with the woman. Also, you’re a technology expert; you might know what to do better than I do when the time comes.”

“Seriously, you’re freaking me out, just tell me! Is she your long lost daughter?”

“What? No! Of course not. Bloody hell, will you ever take anything seriously? Just shut up and listen for once!” She exploded.

Adelle squeezed her eyes to think about the proper way to tell him. She sighed, feeling a little calmer and started over.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to yell. Fine, first of all, do you remember a few months ago, when we had that security breach and no one could find the intruder?”

“I do. It was freaky.”

“It was her. She’s the mysterious hacker.”

“Whiskey? You gotta be kidding me. Oh man, do you know what that means? She’s better at computers than I am! Damn, I’m jealous!”

Adelle told him all about Samaritan and all else Samantha Groves told her. By the end of it, his eyes shone.

“A true AI? Are you sure? Like, a 100% sure?”

“That’s what she told me, and after all the evidence she had, I thought hard to not believe her. All that has happened ever since only serves to strengthen this knowledge…”

“Holy crap, Adelle! Everything makes sense now! Everything! The increased security, Rossum’s actions climbing up like crazy, Greer and his freaky minions, his god complex telling us he knows everything like he’s freaking Big Brother… The creation of the Attic just before Whiskey arrived! It’s all for _It_ , right?”

“Yes, Topher. But listen to me carefully, nobody knows we know. You have to understand we’re not on the winning end of this story. We’re mere pawns to Greer and the others. That’s why we need to protect Whiskey until her deal is due. She has access to some kinds of knowledge we don’t. I believe she has dealt with it most of her life.”

“Why would you even let her turn into a Doll if you need her so much anyway?”

“Well, I guess it’s the usual deal right? For her, it serves to gain my trust putting herself completely at my mercy. For me, it keeps the appearances, no one will think it is suspicious and then I’ll have an asset.”

“Right. So, basically what you’re saying is that we need her if we want to survive all this.”

“Precisely.”

Topher was astonished. A true AI, growing right under his nose, and he had no freaking idea! It was amazing, but also scary as hell. Adelle was right; he didn’t have the time or the means to deal with Samaritan (he also thought that was a pretty stupid name and if he had been its creator the name would’ve been something cooler, like Cerebro, Skynet or The Matrix. He was very disappointed with the lack of nerds) without this Groves person. He couldn’t stop wondering about all the astonishing possibilities though.

“But, Adelle, imagine what we could do if we sided with this thing. The amount of knowledge and data we could gather… It’s just unbelievable.”

“I don’t _want_ to imagine the possibilities, Topher, I want to hide from It, I wish It had never seen the light of day. That thing is all-knowing, and that can make It all-powerful. And we can’t hope to control _that_. We can barely control Greer, how would we control his spawn? Stop that mind of yours from going where I can’t follow because I will not back you up on this if you decide to work for this thing.” 

“Fine, fine…” He sighed, showing the palms of his hands as a sign of reconciliation. “Ok, I’ll pretend I don’t feel a tinsy bit insulted by your belief that Whiskey’s the only one who can make us survive this because, ahem, I’m standing right here. But I’ll help you nevertheless.”

“Well, you said it yourself, she’s better than you at computers.” Adelle relaxed a little. “I’m glad you understand our situation. We could just as easily be sent to the Attic. All it would take was a word out of Greer’s mouth, and we would become history, my friend.”

“We’ll pull through, boss. You were right to trust me with this information. I’ll see what I can do about it.”

“Alright, but do it quietly lest someone starts to suspect you.”

♦

A week later, Greer came back to the Dollhouse to fetch Tango for his mission. He hadn’t told Topher exactly what he wanted, so Topher projected one of his regular “super spies” personalities. But the old man arrived with his own hard drive and demanded to see Tango immediately. A blonde woman kept at his side with eyes on everything and said nothing accompanied him. She kept an annoying smirk on at most times. Topher was freaking out by the time Adelle came down from her office to talk to Greer. Topher had told him he needed to at least see the slate, see if everything was in order and if they could actually implant those memories. But Greer had been irreducible, he would not let Topher near the slate. He kept saying they had learned properly how to work with Topher’s mechanisms, and that he had projected the perfect personality for her, no need to worry. When Topher insisted, the blonde woman merely looked at him with eyes as cold and hard as iron, and he shut up immediately.

Adelle arrived almost at the same time as Tango did. Upon seeing the Doll, the blonde woman’s smirk grew. Topher was sitting on the chair. Adelle stood between Tango and Greer, a demanding air around her. “Mr. Greer, what a pleasure. And this is?” Adelle asked as she motioned to the blonde woman.

“Martine.” The blonde said flatly. The pair stared each other for a moment and Adelle broke eye contact to look at the old man again.

“Adelle, always a pleasure indeed. I’m afraid the exchange of pleasantries will have to be short today, since we’re in a bit of a hurry.”

“In a hurry for what, may I ask?”

“You may not, but alas. As I’ve told you, we’re trying to find Harold Finch, and that’s all you need to know. Now, please tell Mr. Topher here, as I’ve asked two times already, to remove himself from the chair and let me implant Tango, because we have to leave.”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t do that, sir. Topher is this House’s certified scientist, and I simply can’t allow you to implant one of my Dolls before he has at least revised this hard drive he told me you’ve brought.”

“Need I remind you that, first, she’s one of _my_ Dolls, and second, that when I give an order, I intend others to answer it?”

Adelle just crossed her arms “Sir, this could permanently damage Tango’s brain if there’s even the slightest mistake…”

“Look, Lady, tell your employee to remove himself, or I’m gonna have to do it _for him_.” Martine growled from Greer’s side.

Greer ignored the blonde and continued “There won’t be any mistakes. We’ve worked closely with the DC House to make sure it was perfect, so you needn’t worry.”

“DC? Pffft, DC’s expertise is not even close to mine!” Topher found his voice at last.

Greer was becoming visually annoyed with the two of them. “Ms. DeWitt, for the last time, let me get this done or consequences will ensue.”

Adelle’s shoulders slumped a millimeter as she told Topher to get up and took Tango’s hand to guide her to the chair. “That won’t be necessary, sir, the DC House is a partner of this one, and as CEO, I trust my partner’s work is as good as ours.” She said that looking at Topher with eyes that meant _leave this alone_.

“Good. Then I hope this incident won’t repeat itself.” He said, as he slid the drive into the chair. He motioned to Topher for the last adjustments and the young man begrudgingly obeyed. Just before he was able to finish, Adelle said “I assure you it won’t, sir. Although, if I may, if you’re working closely with DC and all your dealing are at New York, why bring your Dolls here?”

“My dear Adelle, I simply like traveling.” Greer answered with a voice that seemed final and would have no more of it. Topher turned on the chair and the process was over in less than a minute. Adelle couldn’t help but notice Martine had the same gleam in her eyes when Tango strained at the chair – the slight smirk never leaving her face.

When the chair finished, Tango’s eyes opened revealing intelligence and anger – anger at Greer, Adelle, and probably, the world. She looked much like the mute girl that came in all those months back, except this time she got up and spoke.

“Sir. _Martine_.” The blonde’s name came with a sneer. “Are we good to go?”

“Adelle, I’ll leave you to your problems now. Have a nice day. Sameen, Martine, come.”

“Wait, sir.” Adelle called “Did you not say you’d tell me about Harold Finch?”

“Indeed I did. For the moment, you’re in a need-to-know basis, and you don’t need to know about this right now. As I said, I am leaving. Goodbye.”

The man promptly turned and left with the two women at his heels, leaving Adelle and Topher to look at each other and wonder what had just happened. His visit lasted less than 20 minutes.

♦

“Mr. Reese, I need you at the subway, where are you?”

Finch heard ruffled sounds through the comm and John’s voice came with sounds of struggle.

“Sorry, Finch, I… was a bit delayed.” Finch heard flesh meeting flesh and the struggling stopped. “Damn, this guy wouldn’t pass out for nothing.” Reese struggled to catch his breath. “What’s up?”

“I might have found a lead on the Dollhouse, I need you to check it. When you’re able, please come to the subway and I’ll update you. Also I’m busy, and someone has to walk Bear.”

“I’ll be there soon.”

♦

Whiskey was taking good care of her tiny tree. Alpha was there too, and Echo. She liked their company, they were nice friends, although she’d rather have Tango there with her. Tango always made her happier, but she reminded herself she needed to stay away from Tango so she kept working on her tree.

Her handler came and offered her a treatment. She enjoyed her treatments.

“That’s my girl. What can I say? Most requested Doll in the house. Number one.” She heard her handler saying to the nice tree lady.

Suddenly Alpha was in front of her. He said “Whiskey, let Echo be number one.”

Her face was burning. Whiskey screamed and screamed, trying to escape from Alpha, but he was too heavy and she couldn’t. He kept cutting and cutting her face and the world was just a big blur of red and stinging pain.

Two big men took him away and people came to help her. She couldn’t see or hear anything over the pain, her face bled profusely, blinding her further.

The men took Alpha to Topher’s office and tried to settle him on the chair, but he wouldn’t stop. Topher tried to figure out what was happening, and Adelle ordered Alpha to be sent to the Attic after the investigation. She left.

Alpha restarted his struggle and damaged Topher’s system. He got 48 personalities dumped into his mind and he ran, not before destroying his original wedge and killing Dr. Saunders.

The Dollhouse went into complete chaos after that. Security lockdown, many people hurt on his escape, Whiskey with a cut face and Dr. Saunders dead, along with many more. Adelle summoned Topher to her office, the one place that appeared tranquil in that entire madhouse.

“What the bloody hell was this? What do we do now? Alpha is on the loose, my physician is dead, half the Dolls are scared and need treatments. Whiskey’s face is a mess. Also it’s still not the time for Whiskey to regain her personality. Plus she would be furious at what we let happen to her face. But now we can’t use her as a Doll anymore. Ideas?”

“Well, one, but you’re not gonna like it.”

Adelle sighed, squeezing the bridge of her nose. “At the moment, I’m accepting anything you can come up with.”

“You did just lose Saunders… I could imprint Whiskey with a doctor personality, stick some of his memories on her, create a past… But we can’t just make her a regular Doll. This would be a permanent imprint, so it would have to be more durable, more believable…”

“Wait, you’re saying you want to make Whiskey the new house doctor? Have you lost your mind, Topher? Do you really believe my superiors would let me do this?”

“No, no, boss, _wait_. Hear me out. It’s perfect. I make her a good personality, until it’s time, we disclose to her the truth and put her original self back on. She has enough time to recover and heal, plus she will be helping all the other Dolls and you have enough time to find an adequate doctor to replace her. And it’s not like you have to run this by your superiors, she will still be a bit like Dr. Saunders himself after all…”

Adelle bit her lip, considering. Truly, the jurisdiction over the Dolls was hers, and she could avoid more trouble with her superiors if she didn’t have to replace a doctor. And that would keep Groves under her care. It was as good a plan as any, and mostly it was all she had.

“We would have to call a meeting with the entire staff. Whiskey can’t know she was a Doll, I want her to feel ok here and the others can’t ruin this. I trust you will make this the best personality you’ve ever made?”

“You can count on it, boss.” Topher was nearly jumping up and down. He was never allowed to create a fixed personality before. It was like Christmas, if you excluded the tragedy of it all.

♦

“Mr. Reese, finally.” Bear came to greet John as he entered the subway.

“Hey, Finch, what was it? Something about Root?”

“I’m afraid nothing has come up on her yet. But I’ve found a lead on the Dollhouse.” Finch pulled a file on the computer screen.

“This is Paul Ballard, FBI. Los Angeles unit. Nearly a perfect record, except recently he’s been searching for clues about the Dollhouse. He’s been ridiculed by his co-workers for believing in this urban-legend, and he already has two warnings from his superiors to drop this.”

“Well, I guess official means wouldn’t cut it if you’re looking for an urban legend…”

“Precisely, but he hasn’t stopped searching, and I believe he has found some very interesting things. I think we should fly to LA and see what he has dug out.”

“Alright, I’ll see what he knows. I bet he would like to know not everyone thinks he’s crazy. Get me on the first plane to LA and I-“

A phone rang over the table. It was Shaw’s phone. The men looked at each other and John instantly answered it.

“Shaw? Hello, Shaw?”

“Reese? Reese, I need help, I’m-“

The line dropped. Reese looked ahead, speechless.

“Mr. Reese, was that…”

“It’s Shaw, Finch. She’s alive.”

“Oh, dear. We- we were wrong all along...”

“Yeah. And now we need to go get her.”

“But this is most likely a trap, how are we going to get her out of wherever-“

“I don’t care, Finch. You and your Machine better find her. We can’t abandon her a second time.”

 ♦

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SUMMARY: Caroline Farrell gets to the Dollhouse - she becomes Echo (the main character in Dollhouse - again, I totally recommend watching this show bc it's pretty cool, and yes, they have it on Netflix!). Alpha is instantly obsessed with her - Alpha's original personality was a serial killer. Adelle tells Topher about Samaritan and he completely freaks out with the perspective of a true AI existing. He agrees to help Adelle if they ever need to take a stand against It. Greer comes back for Tango with a new mission - he implants her with a personality created by the DC Dollhouse and leaves - he calls her "Sameen".  
> Harold calls John to let him know he has a new lead on the Dollhouse, telling him to meet him at the subway immediately.  
> Alpha attacks Whiskey because she is the Number One Active on the Dollhouse, and he wants Echo to be number one. He cuts her entire face. He is contained, but before Topher can analize what went wrong and send him to the Attic, he reacts and breaks Topher equipment, getting 48 complete personalities dumped into his brain and becoming Alpha the villain. He also kills Dr. Saunders before he leaves.  
> After the incident, Topher suggests they make Whiskey, who's now unfit to continue as Doll, the new house doctor with Dr. Saunders' personality and memories. Adelle agrees because she needs to mantain Samantha Groves close until she can be of use against Samaritan.  
> Reese meets Finch on the subway, and Finch tells him about FBI agent Paul Ballard, who's investigating the Dollhouse in LA. John agrees to leave on the first plane for LA, but they receive a call on Shaw's phone. Reese answers and it's her. He demands Finch and the Machine find her location so they can rescue her, despite it probably being a trap.  
> TO BE CONTINUED.
> 
> PS: Yes I totally ignored John's run in with the mob and Elias because there's so much I can do to merge POI's timeline with Dollhouse's timeline (which makes zero sense at all, for reals). But Elias will be around in the future I guess!  
> PPS: I feel the scenes were a bit rushed, because I tried to fit many things in one chapter, so I hope this wasn't complete bullshit? I'm so glad we've finally reached Whiskey becoming Dr. Saunders though, because this is when everything starts happening and Saunders is the best character in Dollhouse imo (maybe the fact that she's also Amy Acker has to do with it, idk)!  
> THANK YOU SO MUCH AGAIN FOR EVERYONE WHO'S READ, REVIEWED, KUDOED AND BOOKMARKED, IT MEANS SO MUCH AND YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME!


End file.
